Meta

Workplace/Adult Bullying From a Spiritual Perspective. By ABC

No longer employed and disabled for over 4 years now, it seems like adult bullies are still popping up in every corner of my life, by people, and in ways, I don’t expect. I’ve mentioned that fact in a prior post, about a year after losing my job. It’s still happening, 4 years later, they’re everywhere! Despite reading comments and articles suggesting that workplace and/or adult bullying, is something that continues to repeat its self, I couldn’t believe it, seeing no logic in it and anticipated a bully free life, after the loss of my job. Now I know, how wrong I was! Proven, to myself, beyond a doubt, several times since. Every time, I failed to recognize the initial stages of a bullying campaign, then, falling into the same pit of anger, that always follows, when the havoc of the bully’s deceptions are too deep to deny, and impossible to reverse.This, and many other aspects of the workplace bullying/mobbing experience, continue to haunt me, while no longer employed. Things happened, that seem unreal and outside of what most people expect, as a natural course of events. Throughout the years I have come across many other targets’ comments expressing this same idea. After a target losses their job, many are realizing in retrospect, that parts of their bullying/mobbing experiences, are difficult to explain and believe, not only to those they tell, but to themselves. When adult bullying/mobbing experiences also continue to repeat themselves, it’s a personal crisis beyond belief! My adult bullying encounters outside the workplace, are good examples of the second most striking example of how unreal the bullying/mobbing phenomenon is, that being – the similarity of a “serial bully” tactics. The adult serial bullys’ tactics, are the same, regardless of where. Whether perpetrated in the workplace, or in other life circumstances, where another adult, has some type of authority or other advantage, over you. When learning about the workplace bullying/mobbing phenomenon, I couldn’t believe how similar, other targets’ stories were, compared to my own, down to the tiny details of a bullys’ tactics! Then, after writing some of my own experiences, reader comments reflect this same thought, as they compare my experience with theirs. See the examples below, quoted from readers’ comments, on this website in response to my article, “Tactics of a Work Place Serial Bully Boss”, written in 2004.
-This sounds exactly like a situation I am in right now.
-I don’t understand how someone could look at my work history and evaluations and believe her
-excellent account of what is happening to me,
-Never knew how prevalent that this serial bullying actually is and how closely my situation matches many of the above scenarios.
-wow this is exactly describing my former DM
-I am crying because this is exactly what has happened to me
-Its like you learn my mind!This is just a small selection, gleaned from just one article on this website. There are many more comments, expressing this uncanny similarity, of bullying tactics, and target experiences, after each article on this website, especially those, describing examples of serial bullying and mobbing tactics and targets’ experiences.So why is this happening? While writing about St. Bernadette’s bullying experience, I hit on a piece of the puzzle, that being that at least parts of the bullying/mobbing experience, is supernatural! Now In the midst of the havoc of yet another new bullying experience, unrelated to my past employment bullying experience, it occurred to me that perhaps adult bullies are really increasing in numbers, and how much I hate dealing with them. Never wanting to hate anything about anybody as adamantly as I hate bullying, I wondered if my hate of dealing with bullies was a sin, and if the Bible says anything about if and what God hates, so I Googled the terms -What does God Hate?- The same answer popped up on the first several pages, listing the websites that answer this question, each points to – Proverbs 6:16-19. Which starts out below –
“These six things does the Lord hate: yes, seven – an abomination unto Him:”One author in an article titled “Things That God Hates” adds this explanation

“The last part of this verse means that the seventh item is an abomination to God. Thus, He hates all six things listed, but He especially hates the seventh one because it involves satanic scheming.
These seven actions or behaviors are: (1) A proud look, (2) a lying tongue, (3) hands that shed innocent blood, (4) a heart that devises wicked imaginations, (5) feet that are swift in running to mischief, (6) a false witness who speaks lies, and (7) one who sows discord among brethren. Read the entire article, “Things That God Hates”,

which describes each of the seven actions or behaviors in detail. These details describe adult bullies for sure, especially the seventh involving satanic scheming – “one who sows discord among brethren.” Meaning, people who actually spend time planning discord, not just those who are spontaneously arrogant and rude under stress. Bottom line, GOD HATES BULLIES.This line of thought led me to Google the terms – Who does Satan Target- The sites that popped up had more variable results, some very detailed with dozens of quotes from bible scripture. To sum it all up, Satan targets the righteous. Righteous is defined as “characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of morality or justice”. (on-line -Advanced English Dictionary-app). One article titled, A Target of Satan’s Envy, by David Wilkerson, says it best, “If you are a Christian who seeks God with your whole heart, you are a target.” Further down, he writes “Yet we know from Scripture that storms and great trials come to all who have truly given everything to Christ: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Psalm 34:19). Moreover, if you hunger after the Lord — if you’re determined to seek him with your whole heart, setting your mind and soul to obey his Word — you will continually be a target of the devil’s envy.” The entire article can be found athttp://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/1020 .From a worldly perspective, work place bullying websites and articles, have always concluded that the vast majority of targets, are the best workers on staff, popular, competent, honest, trustworthy, and many more positive attributes are used in workplace bullying articles to describe targets. One author describes targets as “the salt of the earth”, which is my favorite description, read long ago, by an author I no longer remember, although this term was first used by Jesus Christ as quoted in the Holy Bible. In conclusion, it seems evident that these worldly positive descriptions of targets, coincide with Biblical descriptions of people who are righteous! The Holy Bible also tells the righteous to expect trials and suffering and to be glad to share in Christ’s suffering as quoted below
1 Peter 4:12-19
12 My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you. 13 Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed. 14 Happy are you if you are insulted because you are Christ’s followers; this means that the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15 If you suffer, it must not be because you are a murderer or a thief or a criminal or a meddler in other people’s affairs. 16 However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don’t be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ’s name. 17 The time has come for judgment to begin, and God’s own people are the first to be judged. If it starts with us, how will it end with those who do not believe the Good News from God? 18 As the scripture says, “It is difficult for good people to be saved; what, then, will become of godless sinners?” 19 So then, those who suffer because it is God’s will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise..

So there it is right in the oldest and most widely published book ever, THE HOLY BIBLE! In more modern terminology, adult bullying is spiritual warfare! God hates bullies and targets attract the attention of bullies because they are good, righteous people, who bullies both envy and are jealous of!

Knowing the facts about workplace and adult bullying through secular sources, gave me an understanding of the underlying psychosocial aspects of the phenomenon, but left many gaps and questions which remained unanswered, until I looked deeper, finally gaining a complete understanding, by simply reading God’s words, in the Holy Bible